Premier announces $50 off electricity bills as election date looms

By Felicity Caldwell

Talking points

Every Queensland household will automatically get $50 off electricity bills for the next two years.

Cost of living pressures is shaping up to be a major election issue.

The next Queensland election could be held as late as May 2018, but could be held as early as next month.

Every Queensland household - all 1.9 million of them - will get a $50 discount on their electricity bills for the next two years.

As the next state election looms, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk took to the back deck of an old Queenslander in Greenslopes on Sunday to announce a $300 million energy plan, which also includes an ultimatum to retailers.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced a $300 million affordable energy plan.

The package includes an "asset ownership dividend" of $50 a year which will be stamped on every household's electricity bill for the next two years, starting January 2018.

It will be paid for using all the dividends from the state's publicly-owned energy companies over the next two years.

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In addition, there will be $75 annual discounts for regional Ergon residential customers and $120 for small businesses if they take up monthly direct debit billing options.

Up to 100,000 Queenslanders can also apply for up to $300 in rebates if they purchase an energy-efficient fridge, washing machine or air-conditioner.

For the next two years, the government will also ensure the average Queensland household's bills do not increase higher than average inflation, forecast to be about 2.25 per cent next year.

On top of that, Ms Palaszczuk will also meet with south-east Queensland energy retailers this week to deliver an "ultimatum" - deliver the full savings from the state's publicly-owned electricity assets or the government will set up its own publicly-owned electricity retailer.

She said she had sought expert advice about the potential for creating a publicly-owned electricity retailer.

"I will take the customers from them, I'm very serious about this," Ms Palaszczuk warned.

In 2006, then Labor premier Peter Beattie announced the government would sell the retail arms of Energex and Ergon ahead of the introduction of full retail competition into the domestic electricity market.

At the time, Mr Beattie said the move would deliver benefits to consumers as the companies would lose their monopoly and have to compete with interstate companies.

"They will be at a competitive disadvantage against larger, more experienced retailers with lower operating costs, and more experience in attracting and retaining customers in a competitive market," Mr Beattie said in April 2016.

"We have seen some retailers ... where CS Energy has partnered with Alinta, for example, and we announced that recently where people can look at saving 25 per cent on their bill, but of course we could always do more. And if those retailers are gouging households and gouging customers, we will re-enter the market."

When asked how a public retailer could be competitive in 2017, following Mr Beattie's decision to sell them off in 2006, Ms Palaszczuk said: "We will then set the price".

"And people will leave those retailers and they will move to the Queensland government retailer," she said.